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Dr. B.Sarkar

Principal Scientist (Genetics)

Education :Ph.D. in Enthomology Major research areas : Genetic enhancement of dryland crops with tolerance to abiotic stresses.

E-mail:
b.sarkar@icar.gov.in

Experience Profile

  • All along first division (class) in academic carriers from secondary to Ph.D. level
  • Got highest OGPA ( 5.00 out 5) and topper in the batch during M.Sc. in Plant Breeding Department in GBPUA&T, Pantnagar.
  • Recipient of ICAR Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) in Plant Breeding for Ph.D. Programme in 1995-98 at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and worked on "Genetic Studies in Dwafism and Combing Ability in Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea Czern & Coss."
  • Qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by Agricultural Scientist Recruitment Board (ASRB) continuously two year in Plant breeding during 1995-96 and 1996-97.
  • Joined ARS of ICAR on 23rd November, 1998 as Scientist in Directoratge of Wheat Research (DWR), Karnal.
  • Joined as International Barley Breeder (P-Level) at ICARDA, Syria on 7th January, 2008 on deputation from ICAR
  • Senior Scientist (Plant Breeding) at DWR, Karnal from 23rd November, 2007 to September, 2012.
  • Senior Scientist (Plant Breeding) at Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur, UP on 10th September, 2012 to 5th March, 2014
  • Joined CRIDA, Hyderabad as Principal Scientist (Plant Breeding) from 7th March, 2014 to till date.
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Scientific duties

  • Research Projects : Research Projects executed as PI/Co-PI so far
  • Institute Projects :
  • Breeding for malting quality improvement in barley for North Western Plain Zone of India from 1998 to 2012 at DWR, Karnal.
  • Improvement of barley for feed and fodder purposes from 2010-2012 at DWR, Karnal.
  • Evaluation, characterization, conservation and documentation of biodiversity in wheat and barley from 1998-2012 at DWR, Karnal.
  • Multi-location and multi-diciplinary research program on wheat and barley improvement (All India Coordinated Wheat and Barley Improvement Project) from 1998 to 2012 at DWR, Karnal.
  • Genetic improvement for yield and resistance to multiple diseases in blackgram at IIPR, Kanpur from 2012 to 2014.
  • Evaluation urdbean germplam for tolerance to abiotic stresses under NICRA project component on urdbean at IIPR, Kanpur from 2012 to 2014.
  • Senior Scientist at PC (Pigeonpea) unit and involved in Research and Coordination works under AICRP on Pigeonpea.
  • External funded projects :
  • AP Cess fund project funded by ICAR entitled, "Evaluation of barley germplam for biotic & abiotic stresses and malting quality" involving 8 network centres to screen active barley germplam collection (>5000) for biotic and abiotic stresses and evaluation for malting quality traits and characterization for DUS traits from 2004 to 2007.
  • The M/s United Breweries Ltd., Bangalore funded project "Development of Superior malt barley varieties with better quality" from 2004 to 2007.
  • PPV &FPA sponsored project on "Developing guidelines for test of distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (DUS) in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) under by PPV&FPA "for characterization fo released barley varieties in India.
  • National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) for improving productivity of kharif pulses through enhancing tolerance to weather adversities (temperature extremities, drought and water logging).
  • PPV&FPA sponsored project on "Developing guidelines for test of distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (DUS) in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan)" under by PPV&FRA for characterization of pigeonpea varieties in India.

Scholarship awarded

  • Recipient of University Merit Scholarship in M.Sc. Plant Breeding Programme during 1993-95 at GBPUA&T, Pantnagar.
  • Institute Merit Scholarship of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi.
  • Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) of ICAR at IARI, New Delhi for Ph.D. Programme from 1995-98.

Membership

  • Life member of Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding
  • Life member of Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist forum

Research Interests

  • Genomic studies using molecular markers (SSRs, SNPs) to understand the mechanism of drought tolerance in maize, black gram
  • Phenotyping of maize, pigeon pea and black gram genotypes under drought stress condition to understand the genetic diversity for moisture stress tolerance and dissection of traits imparting drought tolerance

Trainings attended

  • Attended 67th Foundation Course for Agricultural Research Service from 1st June 1999 to 28th September 1999 at NAARM, Hyderabad.
  • Attended 21 days Summer School training on recent Advances in Agricultural Research Project Management from 15th April to 5th May, 2002
  • Participation in 10 days orientation course on Plant Molecular Biology (PCR technique & molecular marker) at DWR, Karnal from 20th to 29th March 2003.
  • Attended 21 days winter shool on Refresher Course on Human Resource Management at NAARM, Hyderabad 4th to 24th January, 2006.
  • Attended a 6 days basic training Statistical Analytical Software (SAS) for analysis of experimental data.
  • Attended a short training course on Barley Improvement at ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria from 7th to 19th May, 2011.

Professional Achievements

  • Developed six malt barley varieties namely DWR28, DWRUB52 and DBRB92 (two rowed, irrigated, timely sown for NWPZ), DWRB73 & DWRB91 (two rowed, irrigated late sown) and DWRUB64 (six rowed, irrigated late sown).
  • Developed a total of 55 malt barley strains as part of ongoing malt barley research programme at DWR and were contributed for testing under multi-location coordinated trials (IVT-MB and AVT-MB) in AICW&BIP.
  • Developed and registered 7 barley genetic stocks (namely DWR37, DWR38, DWR39, DWR44, DWR45, DWR47 and DWR51) with NBPGR, New Delhi for malting quality traits and disease (rust and blight) resistance.
  • Responsible for rejuvenation, characterization, evaluation and conservation of large number of barley germplasm (>7500) accessions under active collection at DWR, Karnal.
  • Actively involved in research coordination, constitution, conduct and monitoring of multi-location trials (IVT/AVT) and International trials/nurseries received from ICARDA and CIMMYT under AICW&BIP since 1999.
  • Two years experience of working as international barley breeder at International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), Syria under CGIAR system.
  • Presently working as Principal Scientist Plant Breeding at CRIDA, Hyderabad for genetic enhancement of dryland crops.

ResearchGate

Google Scholar

Research Publications

  • a) Research Papers :
  • Sarkar B, Varalaxmi Y, Vanaja M, RaviKumar N, Prabhakar M, Yadav SK, Maheswari M and Singh VK (2023). Mapping of QTLs for morphophysiological and yield traits under water-deficit stress and well-watered conditions in maize. Front. Plant Sci. 14:1124619. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1124619
  • Sarkar, B., Chakravarthy, V.S.K., Vanaja, M., Salini, K., Maheswari, M., Jyothilakshmi, N., Shanker, A. K., Yadav, S. K., Prabhakar, M., Chary, G. R. and Singh, V. K. 2023. Phenotyping Drought-Induced Morpho-Physiological Changes and Genetic Diversity Among Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) Genotypes. Plant Mol Biol Rep 41, 304–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-022-01366-2
  • Sarkar, B., Savita, S. K., Varalaxmi, Y., Vanaja, M., Ravi Kumar, N., Sathish, P., Jyothi Lakshmi, N., Prabhakar, M., Shanker, A. K., Yadav, S. K. and Maheswari. M. 2022. Stress Reactions of Maize Genotypes to Drought Stress at Different Phenophases and Recovery. Russ J Plant Physiol 69, 54-63. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1021443722030128
  • Maheswari, M., Varalaxmi, Y., Sarkar, B., Ravi Kumar, N., Vanaja, M., Yadav, S.K., Jyothilakshmi, N., Vijayalakshmi, T., Savitha, S.K., Srinivasa Rao, M., Shanker, A.K., Mohapatra, T. 2021. Tolerance mechanisms in maize identified through phenotyping and transcriptome analysis in response to water deficit stress. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants. 27, 1377–1394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-021-01003-4
  • Shanker AK, Amirineni S, Bhanu D, Yadav SK, Jyothilakshmi N, Vanaja M, Singh J, Sarkar B, Maheswari M and Singh VK (2022) High-resolution dissection of photosystem II electron transport reveals differential response to water deficit and heat stress in isolation and combination in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]. Front. Plant Sci. 13:892676. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.892676
  • Gurumurthy S, Sarkar, B, Vanaja, M, Jyoti Lakshmi N, Yadav, SK and Maheswari, M 2019. Morpho-physiological and biochemical changes in black gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) genotypes following imposition of water stress at flowering stage. Acta Physiologae Planta. 41:1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-019-2833-x
  • Maheswari M, Vijaya Lakshmi, Varalaxmi Y, Sarkar B, Yadav S K, Jainender Singh, Seshu B, Babu G, Ashish Kumar, Sushma A, Jyothilakshmi N, Vanaja M 2016. Functional mechanisms of drought tolerance in maize through phenotyping and genotyping under well-watered and water stressed conditions. Eur. J. Agron., 79: 43-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2016.05.008
  • Sarkar, B., Sharma, R. C., Verma, R. P. S., Sarkar, A. and Sharma, I. 2014. Identifying superior feed barley genotypes using GGE biplot for diverse environments in India. Indian J. Genet. and Pl. Breed. 74(1): 26-33.
  • Sarkar, B., Sarkar, A. Sharma, R. C., Verma, R. P. S., and Sharma, I. 2014. Genetic diversity in barley for traits associated with feed and forage purposes. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (under review)
  • Verma R P S., Sarkar B., Kharub, AS., Kumar, D., Selva Kumar, R., Narwal, S. Kumar, V. and Sharma, I. 2012. Notification of crop varieties – Barley variety DWRB73. Indian J. Genet. and Pl. Breed. 72(3): 400.
  • Verma R P S., Sarkar B., Kharub, AS., Kumar, D., Selva Kumar, R., Kumar, V. and Sharma, I. 2012. Notification of crop varieties – Barley variety DWRUB64 for late sown condition. Indian J. Genet. and Pl. Breed. 72(3): 400-401.
  • Verma R.P.S., Kharub A.S., Sarkar B., Kumar Dinesh. 2012. Barley: A crop for changing climate in India. Progressive Agriculture. 11(conf): 63-73.
  • Selvakumar, R., Verma, RPS.,Sarkar, B., Saharan, MS., Singh, SP., Karwasra, SS., Kumar, J., Vaish, SS., Kharub, AS., Dinesh Kumar, Kumar, V. and Sharma, I. 2012. Genotypes and environment interaction in response to Bipolaris sorokiniana causing leaf blight in barley. Indian Journal of Wheat Research. 4(1): 70-73.
  • Verma, RPS and Sarkar B. 2010. Diversity for malting quality in barley varieties released in India. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 80(6):493-500.
  • Sarkar, B.; Verma, R.P.S.; Parsad, R. and Jag Shoran. 2010. Diversity among barley germplasm collection in India. Indian J. Genet. & Pl. Breed. 70(3): 234-239.
  • Verma, RPS; Sarkar B.; Kharub, AS and Selvakumar, R. 2010. Challenges for barley production in India. Indian Farming. 60 (5): 41-48.
  • Sarkar, B.; Verma, R.P.S. and Mishra, B. 2008. Association studies among important malting quality traits in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) under Indian conditions. Indian J Agric. Sci. 78 (10): 854-858.
  • Verma, R.P.S.; Sarkar, B.; Gupta, R and Varma, A.2008. Breeding barley for malting quality improvement in India. Cereal Research Communication. 36(1), pp. 135–145.
  • Sarkar, B.; Verma, R.P.S. and Mishra, B. 2008. Genetic diversity for malting quality in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Indian J. Genet. 68(2), 163-170.
  • b) Publication in Symposia/Seminars/Conferences
  • Selvakumar, R., Verma, R. P. S., Bhardwaj, S. C., Sarkar, B. and Sharma, I. 2012. Sources of rust resistance in Indian barley genotypes. In: Proceedings of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative 2012 Technical Workshop, held from September 1–4th 2012 at Beijing, China. p112. (abstract)
  • Sarkar, B. and Verma, RPS. 2012. Diversity among barley germplasm collection in India (Abstract). 11th International barley genetics Symposium, 15-20th April, 2012, Hangzhou, China (poster presentation).
  • Verma, R.P.S.; Kharub, A.S.; D. Kumar; Sarkar, B. and Selvakumar, R. 2012. Widening the horizon for malt barley cultivation in India. (Abstract). 11th International barley genetics Symposium, 15-20th April, 2012, Hangzhou, China (poster presentation).
  • Verma, R.P.S.; Kharub, A.S.; Sarkar, B. and Kumar. D. 2011. Barley: A crop for changing climate in India. Invited paper presented in International Conference on Issues for climate change, land use, Diversification and Biotechnological tools for livelihood security at SVPUA&T, Modipuram, Meerut, India on 9th October, 2011.
    • .
  • Verma, R.P.S., Sarkar, B. and Mishra, B. 2008. Improvement of two-row malt barley through two x six-row hybridization in India. In: 10th International Barley Genetics Symposium Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt. 5th -10th April 2008 (Abst.).
  • c) Research bulletin/short notes/short communication :
  • Verma, RPS, Kharub, AS, Kumar, D, Sarkar, B. Selvakumar, R, Indu Sharma. 2012. New late sown malt barley cultivars. ICAR News. Vol. 18. No. 3. 14-15.
  • Sarkar, B. 2012. Barley improvement for feed and forage purposes. In: A compendium of lectures on “Malting Quality Improvement in Barley, Sorghum & Corn”, Ed.: Verma, R.P.S., Kharub,A.S., Dinesh Kumar, Sarkar, B., Selvakumar, R., Rekha Malik and Indu Sharma 2012. DWR Compendium No. 5, Directorate of Wheat Research, Karnal, India. p. 34-37.
  • Sarkar, B. 2012. Utilization of barley genetic resources for barley improvement. In: A compendium of lectures on “Malting Quality Improvement in Barley, Sorghum & Corn”, Ed.: Verma, R.P.S., Kharub, A.S., Dinesh Kumar, Sarkar, B., Selvakumar, R., Rekha Malik and Indu Sharma 2012. DWR Compendium No. 5, Directorate of Wheat Research, Karnal, India. p. 38-47.
  • Verma, R.P.S. Kharub, A.S., Kumar, D., Sarkar B., Selvakumar, R., Malik R and Sharma, I. 2012. A compendium of lectures on “Malting Quality Improvements in Barley, Sorghum & Corn”. Directorate of Wheat Research, Karnal (January 28 - February 6, 2012) DWR, Compendium No. 5, P126.
  • Verma, R.P.S., Kharub, A.S., Kumar, D., Sarkar, B., Selvakumar, R. Singh, R., Malik, R., Kumar, R. and Sharma, I. 2011. Fifty. Years of Coordinated Barley Research in India. Directorate of Wheat Research, Karnal-132001. Research Bulletin. No 27: P46.
  • d} Book Chapter
  • Sarkar, B. etal. 2012. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) In: BREEDING, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND SEED PRODUCTION OF CEREALS. New India Publishing Agency, New Delhi (ISBN No. 9789381450680)
  • Roy, B. and Sarkar, B. 2012. Achievement and letdown in Hybrid Wheat In: BREEDING, BIOTECHNOLOGY AND SEED PRODUCTION OF CEREALS. New India Publishing Agency, New Delhi (ISBN No. 9789381450680).
  • Satish Kumar, Mishra, C.N., Sarkar, B. and Singh, S.S. 2012. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) In: Breeding Field Crops. AGROBIOS India. (ISBN-13: 978-8177544565.) Pp 99-112.